The government has allocated £30 million to the police to establish regional e-crime units, according to reports.

The funding would mean that the burden of tackling small to mid scale online crime will not rest entirely on the Metropolitan Police’s PCeU e-crime unit.

Janet Williams, the Association of Chief Police Officer’s head of cybercrime, told the Guardian newspaper: “We are very concerned at the extent and growth of cyber crime. It is getting to be an increasingly large problem."

She said in an interview that there was a significant “dark side” of the internet and that the police would bring “all” of its “skills and capacity” to fight the problem.

“If we don't, it will have such a profound effect on share prices, on investment, and on how much the government has to spend on pensions,” she added.

Separately, the government last year allocated £650 million to tackle national-level cybercrime threats. Much of the money is expected to go to the new Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance.

However, last week the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said the powers, remit and budget of the office remained unclear. It urged immediate clarification from Whitehall.

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